by Patrick Winn

Little King can’t read or write. Little King can’t tell you the name of his country’s president.

But he’s sturdy enough to balance heavy, spine-bending bundles of cargo atop his skull. Strong enough to tug dinghies loaded with bananas across the Yangon River’s mucky banks at low tide.

Down by the docks, where men work like mules, Little King can earn $3 per day. He is a breadwinner, the primary supporter of a woman he adores and her two children.

But that woman is his mother. Those children are his sisters. Little King is just a kid.

By ZARNI MANN / THE IRRAWADDY

RANGOON — Buddhist monks urged the Burmese government to apologize for its actions six years ago as they commemorated the Saffron Revolution on Wednesday in Rangoon, where street protests in September 2007 were led by the revered religious leaders and brutally crushed by the ruling military junta.

“For the sake of the citizens of the country, we are thinking of lifting the boycott on offerings and [performance of] Buddhist rituals for government officials. For this, the government must officially apologize for what they did,” said U Pyinnya Tayza, a Saffron Revolution participant, in a statement at a ceremony marking the pro-democracy protests.

Story by Lance Cpl. Cody Haas

CAMP PENDLETON, Calif. – Dozens of Marines from 1st and 3rd Air Naval Gunfire Liaison Company joined forces with British Army Commandos from 148th Battery, 29th Commando Fire Support Team, Royal Artillery, during this year’s Exercise Burmese Chase, aboard Camp Pendleton, Calif., Sept. 3, 2013.

Burmese Chase, a bilateral exercise between American and British forces, is conducted annually to hone the skills of forward observers through many joint training operations. The three week evolution improves interoperability by conducting close air support, live-fire drills and small unit training with the two nations.

Author: Saw Blacktown

British MP, Valerie Vaz delivered more than 2,000 letters from supporters of Burma Campaign UK on 12 September to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, calling for action to end sexual violence against women in Burma.

Burma Campaign UK called on the British government to highlight Burma when Foreign Secretary William Hague travels to New York for a major meeting at the UN to discuss sexual violence in conflict on 24 September.

The group was deeply concerned about on-going human rights abuses, including rape and sexual violence against women in ethnic minority areas, where it claims the Burma Army has been using rape as a weapon of war for decades.

By KO HTWE

Liaison teams representing the Kachin Independence Organisation (KIO) and the Burmese government’s Peace-making Work Committee concluded a two-day meeting in Myitkyina on Tuesday with at least one mediator saying hopes are high that negotiations will recommence at a union-level in October.

Speaking to DVB after the meeting, Hla Maung Shwe of the Myanmar Peace Centre said the two delegations focused mainly on the issues of a nationwide ceasefire; the formation of a committee to monitor the ceasefire process; the rehabilitation of internally displaced persons (IDPs); and fixing arrangements for next month’s meeting.

RFA

Myanmar has vowed to step up its battle against human trafficking by doing more to check the problem at home and collaborating in preventive efforts with the U.S. and its Southeast Asian neighbors.

Home Affairs minister Ko Ko said the authorities would also emphasize efforts to address the rights of the victims of human trafficking, which has grown into a big problem in Myanmar’s cities in recent years.